Woman Accused Of Fatally Shooting Cousin At Vandergrift Apartment
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VANDERGRIFT (KDKA) – A woman is in custody for allegedly shooting and killing her cousin in Westmoreland County Thursday night.
According to police, officers were called to a home on Longfellow Street in Vandergrift around 10 p.m. for a reported shooting. When they arrived, they found a man dead inside the house.
The victim has been identified as 31-year-old John Smail, of Greensburg. Smail's cousin 35-year-old Ashley Croft was taken into custody at the scene.
Investigators say Smail had been in Croft's first-floor apartment a little more than an hour before he was shot.
According to the criminal complaint, Croft told detectives, "I shot my cousin. I was sleeping and dreaming. I woke up. I was high today and I was out of it."
Detectives say Croft told them she was high on marijuana.
Vandergrift Police Chief Joseph Caporali says the two had exchanged words.
"There was some type of, not an altercation, but some type of verbal back-and-forth between her and the victim, and she felt for some reason her life was in danger, according to her statements, and she fired three rounds at the individual, striking him three times," Caporali said.
Smail was shot in the right abdomen, the shoulder and the neck.
Police say Croft used a 9mm Glock, which she had a license to own. Smail was found near the rear door of the apartment.
There was no bond. Croft was taken to the Westmoreland County Jail.
